New York Islanders Recall Cole McWard
The New York Islanders announced today that defenseman Cole McWard has been recalled from the club’s AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders.
McWard takes the place of blueliner Marshall Warren on the Islanders’ roster, as Warren was reassigned to Bridgeport yesterday. Warren had played in six consecutive games for the Islanders from Dec. 20 to Jan. 1, his final game for the team being the club’s 7-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth on the first day of 2026. Warren has three assists through eight games this season playing in a limited bottom-pairing role.
In recalling McWard to replace Warren, the Islanders have swapped 24-year-old depth defensemen on their roster.
While Warren is a left-shot defenseman who entered the year with zero games of NHL experience, McWard joins the Islanders’ roster with six games of NHL experience already on his résumé. He was signed as an undrafted player out of the NCAA’s Michigan Wolverines in 2023 and ended the season with a five-game run on the Vancouver Canucks’ NHL roster.
McWard then spent the following two campaigns in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks, playing a top-four role and winning a Calder Cup with the team last season. McWard signed with the Islanders this past summer after he was non-tendered by the Canucks; he got a one-year, two-way pact with a league-minimum NHL salary and a $200K total guarantee in order to sign on Long Island.
So far this season, McWard has been a top-pairing defenseman for the AHL Islanders. He has scored 16 points in 29 games and leads the team in time-on-ice per game, playing a role on both special teams units. The fact that he’s a right shot would, on paper, make him a less natural fit with veteran Scott Mayfield on the Islanders’ bottom pairing, though the other spare defenseman on the roster, Adam Boqvist, is also a righty.
Andrew Gross of Newsday wrote today that he expects McWard to play tonight when the Islanders host the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it’s likely McWard will make his Islanders debut lined up next to Mayfield.
Latest On Yegor Chinakhov
While the NHL has already seen some significant trades in 2025-26, including one involving the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2020 first-round pick Yegor Chinakhov has yet to change teams. The 24-year-old requested a trade before this season and has not retracted his request, but no move has materialized to this point.
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun addressed Chinakhov’s situation in an article earlier today, speculating that the San Jose Sharks could be a solid fit to acquire the young winger. Within the piece, LeBrun also noted how the Blue Jackets’ recent acquisition of Mason Marchment may impact Columbus’ approach to trading Chinakhov.
LeBrun wrote that “when teams called” on Chinakhov earlier this year, he does not believe “Columbus wanted just a draft pick” in exchange for the player. LeBrun added that since the Blue Jackets dealt second and fourth-round picks to the Seattle Kraken to acquire Marchment, “they might be OK recouping a second-round pick” for Chinakhov.
Whether a team would be willing to spend a second-round pick to acquire Chinakhov, though, is the key question. Two seasons ago, Chinakhov appeared to be on the verge of an NHL breakout, scoring 16 goals and 29 points in just 53 games. Injuries limited Chinakhov to just 30 games last season and through 29 games this season, Chinakhov has just six points.
A skilled offensive player, Chinakhov has been unable to earn the trust of head coach Dean Evason, who has at times made him a healthy scratch. The Blue Jackets have yet to fulfill Chinakhov’s trade request, but it appears their recent acquisition of Marchment could be the force that paves the way for the player to get his long-requested change of scenery.
Big Hype Prospects: Zharovsky, Barlow, Nestrasil, Zajicek
Welcome to PHR’s Big Hype Prospects series. Like the MLB Trade Rumors series of the same name, we’re taking a look at the performances of top prospects from across the hockey world. We’ll look at drafted prospects who are rising, others who are struggling, and prospects for the upcoming draft who are notable.
Four Big Hype Prospects
Alexander Zharovsky, RW, Montreal Canadiens (Ufa Salavat Yulayev, KHL)
31 GP 11G 17A 28pts
The Montreal Canadiens are currently benefiting greatly from the nightly performances of star rookie Ivan Demidov, a hugely talented Russian winger with the kind of offensive ability that can dazzle fans on a nightly basis. Demidov’s excellent rookie season does not come as a huge surprise to most, as just last season he managed to lead his KHL team in scoring — a hugely impressive feat for an 18-year-old player.
And yet Demidov may not be the only Canadiens prospect to accomplish that feat. Zharovsky, the club’s top selection at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, currently leads the KHL’s Ufa Salavat Yulayev in scoring with 28 points in 31 games. The next-highest scorer, veteran Jack Rodewald, has 25 points in 39 games. Just one other player on the team has reached the 20-point mark.
The fact that Demidov led SKA in scoring last season threatens to leave Canadiens fans somewhat jaded at the prospect of another youngster leading his KHL team in scoring. But they should be reminded that the KHL, Russia’s top professional league, is a circuit with a longstanding reputation of being notoriously difficult for teenage players to gain a foothold in. Demidov himself had to contend with this, sometimes finding himself in an extremely limited role in SKA’s lineup despite his obvious talent.
Zharovsky’s brilliant 2025-26 campaign thus far has served as a clear indication that the Canadiens likely nabbed a first-round caliber talent in the early portion of the second round of the draft. Zharovsky was one of the fastest-rising players of last year’s draft process. He barely registered on scouting radars early last season. NHL Central Scouting did not include him on their preliminary watch list last October, nor was he ranked in the midterm rankings in January. Central Scouting caught onto Zharovsky by the end of the season, ranking him No. 5 among international skaters in their final rankings.
Most public-facing outlets had Zharovsky ranked in the early to middle portion of the second round of the draft, as high as No. 35 (TSN’s Bob McKenzie) and as low as No. 49 (Corey Pronman of The Athletic). In his ranking, Pronman wrote that while Zharovsky’s MHL production “needs to be looked at with a grain of salt,” due to the fact that he managed those numbers “in the clear worst division in that league.” He finished writing Zharovsky “could be a bottom six wing,” but it’s clear the Canadiens disagreed.
In their media availability following the draft, the Canadiens’ co-directors of amateur scouting Nick Bobrov and Martin Lapointe indicated to the media that not only did they project Zharovsky as a future top-six winger, but they also had him ranked on their draft board inside the first round, right around the slot of the two first-round picks they ultimately dealt to the New York Islanders in the Noah Dobson trade.
While it’s still far too early to tell whether Zharovsky will live up to the Canadiens’ expectations or fall more in line with Pronman’s projection, the early returns have been extremely promising for Montreal. Just as he did in the MHL, Zharovsky’s KHL performance will likely be met with some skepticism due to the fact that the division Zharovsky plays in, the Chernyshev Division, is arguably the league’s weakest.
But it is nonetheless extremely impressive to see a winger of Zharovsky’s age lead his team in scoring in his rookie KHL campaign. Zharovsky was named a KHL All-Star and the league’s rookie of the month for October and November. He ranks second in scoring in the KHL among all players aged 22 and younger, behind only Chicago Blackhawks prospect Roman Kantserov, who is 21 years old. While we won’t know for some time whether Zharovsky will truly end up as the top-six offensive talent the Canadiens believe he can be, his progression at the moment has been highly encouraging.
Colby Barlow, RW, Winnipeg Jets (Manitoba Moose, AHL)
25 GP 2G 3A 5pts
Of the first 20 picks of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, just four selected players have yet to make their NHL debut: No. 5 pick David Reinbacher (MTL), No. 14 pick Brayden Yager (PIT, traded to WPG), No. 18 pick Barlow (WPG), and No. 20 pick Eduard Sale (SEA). While the pace of a prospect’s development is no sure indicator of that player’s future NHL success, and it must be repeatedly emphasized that player development is not a linear process, it is still notable when a highly-drafted prospect begins to fall behind his peers.
In Barlow’s case, he appears to have fallen behind quite considerably. This is actually not the first time Barlow has appeared in the Big Hype Prospects series, as he also was covered in a September 2024 article written by colleague Gabe Foley. Foley correctly noted that Barlow was a lock to be traded from his OHL team at the time (the Owen Sound Attack) and expressed some hope that the expected OHL trade would provide Barlow with some much-needed momentum in his final year before turning pro.
While OHL trades provided a spark for other CHL first-rounders to have hugely productive final campaigns in junior hockey (Conor Geekie and Matthew Savoie were two names specifically referenced by Foley) that didn’t happen for Barlow, who scored 32 goals and 61 points in 62 games as a member of the Oshawa Generals.
While Barlow did score at a higher rate in the second half of the year, and did follow up the regular season with a stellar postseason run (33 points in just 21 games), it appears he hasn’t been able to translate that momentum into tangible production to start his pro career.
Barlow is now 25 games into his first full season in the AHL, and he’s managed just five points.
The 20-year-old has long been viewed as a potential NHL sniper, with his shot credited as one of his standout tools. Pronman wrote in August that “Barlow’s calling card is his shot” but noted that “his offensive inconsistency is a concern.”
Elite Prospects’ Lauren Kelly wrote around the same time that Barlow’s “playmaking showed significant growth” in Oshawa, and that the development “bodes well for his move to the AHL.”
Breaking down exactly why Barlow’s offensive momentum appears to have stalled at the AHL level isn’t a simple task. He does get to play with some talented linemates, currently skating alongside 2022 first-rounder Brad Lambert and 2021 second-rounder Nikita Chibrikov.
But neither Lambert nor Chibrikov have been particularly productive this season. Despite having linemates that are, on paper, of high quality, Barlow hasn’t had the chance to play all that much this season. He ranks last in average ice time per game among all Moose skaters with at least 20 games played this season.
Given Barlow’s struggles in his rookie AHL campaign and the Moose’s apparent reluctance to play him higher in the lineup on a regular basis, it could be that a change of scenery ends up the best outcome for both Barlow and Winnipeg.
Barlow has, without question, thus far failed to live up to the Jets’ investment of a first-round pick in him. And Barlow could argue that the Jets have similarly failed to give him the kind of high-minute AHL role that would allow him to build momentum early in his pro career.
As the Jets look to plot their way forward amidst a deeply disappointing 2025-26 NHL campaign, they could seek to acquire reinforcements for their NHL roster via trade. If they end up doing so, Barlow could be one of the top prospects the Jets elect to trade in one of those transactions.
Vaclav Nestrasil, RW, Chicago Blackhawks (UMass Amherst, NCAA)
18 GP 10G 10A 20pts
If there’s one single player archetype that is most widely coveted across the NHL, a strong argument could be made that it’s a forward who combines devastating size and physicality with a high level of offensive skill. Those players come few and far between, and when one manages to establish himself at the NHL level, there’s usually no shortage of teams trying to line up to acquire his services.
Selected No. 25 overall at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, Nestrasil has a very real chance of becoming that kind of player at the NHL level. The 6’5″, 190-pound winger still has a ways to go in terms of his physical development to reach that point, but the start to his collegiate career has been extremely impressive.
The Blackhawks’ selection of Nestrasil No. 25 overall was met with some skepticism. The player managed only 42 points in 61 USHL contests as a member of the Muskegon Lumberjacks, which is below the typically expected level of production for a first-round pick.
Though Nestrasil’s 13 points in 14 playoff games did help Muskegon win the Clark Cup Championship, his eventual draft ranking varied wildly in the public sphere. The team at Elite Prospects ranked him No. 26 on their board, but most other outlets ranked him somewhere in the 35-45 range. He was even ranked as low as No. 65, by TSN’s Craig Button.
While most scouts commended Nestrasil’s energy level, non-stop motor, and ability to impact a game even when he couldn’t score, many questioned whether he’d be able to bring a level of consistent production that would justify the investment of a first-round draft choice.
Nestrasil’s first 18 games of college hockey have gone a long way towards addressing — but not permanently silencing — those skeptics. He has managed 10 goals and 18 points, good for second on the team behind undrafted 22-year-old Jack Musa.
Because other freshmen players are also having an incredible start to their NCAA career (Pittsburgh Penguins 2025 first-rounder Will Horcoff has 19 goals in his first 20 games, for example), Nestrasil’s sharp improvement in offensive production over last season has flown more under the radar than it perhaps deserves to. But if any Blackhawks fans decide to tune into Amherst games this season, it’s possible they could be watching a long-term linemate for franchise face Connor Bedard.
The team is still searching for long-term pieces to pair Bedard with, and Nestrasil’s compete level, size, physicality, and offensive touch could complement the star center quite well. There’s still a ways to go before Nestrasil reaches that point, but so far in his NCAA career, Nestrasil’s stock appears to be rapidly rising.
Simon Zajicek, G, Boston Bruins (Providence Bruins, AHL)
12 GP 10-1-1, .934 sv% /1.93 GAA
The history of free agent imports from European professional leagues is a spotty one. Where there have been teams that have found considerable success bringing over star players from top European pro circuits, others have seen their investments flame out and quickly return to the other side of the Atlantic. For every Karel Vejmelka or Alexander Radulov there appears to be five Jan Kovar‘s or Jakub Jerabek‘s.
The Bruins have traded away a considerable number of draft picks over the last half-decade as a result of the organization’s push to win the Stanley Cup within that time frame. Those moves have depleted the Bruins’ prospect pool, and left their scouts with fewer resources at their disposal to replenish that pool of prospects.
One route organizations in that sort of a position often take to try to maintain a pipeline of young players despite having fewer draft picks is signing free agent players from the NCAA, the CHL, or the European pro circuit. Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman is an example of a hockey operations executive that has been aggressive in his targeting of European free agents, and he had some success doing so with the Chicago Blackhawks, landing long-term NHL players such as Antti Raanta, Erik Gustafsson, and most notably, Artemi Panarin.
The Bruins appeared to try to replicate his approach this past summer when they signed Zajicek, a netminder from the Czech Extraliga. In his age-23 season, Zajicek led the Extraliga in save percentage, putting up a .930 mark across 29 games played. The year prior, he posted a .909 save percentage across 20 games for HC Litvínov.
Zajicek was signed to form a tandem with AHL star Michael DiPietro, and despite his inexperience in North American pro hockey, Zajicek has been stellar to start his AHL career. Through 12 games, Zajicek has gone 10-1-1 with a .934 save percentage. His performance, along with the strong performances of DiPietro, have helped Providence rank No. 2 in the AHL in fewest goals surrendered so far in 2025-26.
While it’s too early to tell whether Zajicek’s performance is truly a reflection of a promising NHL future or more of a product of a high-quality defensive environment around him, his stellar form to start the year does suggest that he may end up making a push for an NHL role in Boston or somewhere where there is more of a pressing need for goaltending.
Photos courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Islanders Reassign Marcus Hogberg
Thursday: Hogberg has been returned to Bridgeport, per the AHL’s transactions log. Given that he now must play in at least one AHL game before being recalled, it’s fair to suggest that Sorokin will indeed be able to return after the break.
Tuesday: The New York Islanders announced today that netminder Marcus Hogberg has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, on an emergency basis. In their announcement, the Islanders added that incumbent starting goalie Ilya Sorokin “has a small nagging issue” and the club “is taking advantage of the holiday break to rest” Sorokin. The expectation is that Sorokin will be ready to play after the break.
The Islanders play the New Jersey Devils tomorrow, and then will wait until Saturday for their next game, which comes against the New York Rangers. Per Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press, this development indicates that backup netminder David Rittich will get the start tomorrow night against the Devils.
There have not been any reports of an injury to Sorokin prior to today, so this development comes as a bit of a surprise. Sorokin has received a substantial diet of starts so far in 2025-26, playing 24 games compared to Rittich’s 12. Sorokin’s performance hasn’t given any clear indication that he’s managing an injury, either, as he’s posted a solid .910 save percentage across his 24 games played.
Rittich, 33, is a veteran backup who the Islanders signed over the summer to a one-year, $1MM AAV deal. He’s served as the backup while former tandem goalie Semyon Varlamov has remained out with an injury. Rittich has gone 7-3-2 as an Islander with a .908 save percentage and 2.54 goals against average.
He’ll be backed up tomorrow by Hogberg, a 31-year-old netminder who served as Sorokin’s backup for much of last season. He posted a .878 save percentage across 15 games on Long Island last season, and has a .881 save percentage in 14 games for Bridgeport in 2025-26. He’s playing out the second year of the two-year deal that brought him to New York and his contract carries a one-way structure this season.
Los Angeles Kings Sign Jimmy Lombardi To Entry-Level Contract
The Los Angeles Kings have signed prospect forward Jimmy Lombardi to a three-year entry-level contract, according to an announcement from Lombardi’s agent Dan Milstein as well as a team announcement. This news will coincide with Lombardi decomitting from the Big Ten’s University of Michigan – where he was slated to play next season – per Matthew Auchincloss of Michigan Daily Sports.
Lombardi, who turns 19 in February, was a fourth-round pick (No. 125 overall) by the Kings at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. The No. 29 overall pick at the 2023 OHL Priority Selection, Lombardi scored 13 goals and 45 points for the Flint Firebirds in his draft year, ending the draft season with mixed rankings from public-facing scouting outlets. He was ranked as high as No. 59, by McKeen’s Hockey, and as low as No. 120, by Future Considerations. NHL Central Scouting ranked Lombardi No. 84 among North American skaters.
The Kings ultimately landed Lombardi a little bit later than his rankings from public sources. The early returns from their fourth-round choice have been uniformly positive. Lombardi entered the season ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the Kings’ system according to the team at Elite Prospects, and his performance in the OHL so far this season has likely increased his stock notably.
Flint is currently one of the top offensive teams in the OHL, led by New York Rangers prospect Nathan Aspinall, who leads the entire OHL in scoring. Lombardi’s 21 goals and 41 points tie for eighth in league scoring, alongside four other players, two of whom were first-round draft picks.
It’s entirely plausible that Lombardi’s jump in production was enough to motivate the Kings to sign Lombardi to his entry-level deal. What’s somewhat curious about this signing is the impact it has on his development path. Lombardi announced a commitment to play college hockey at the University of Michigan in June that he will now forgo.
That does not come as a huge surprise, of course, as the fact that he is now signed to his entry-level deal eliminates the possibility of Lombardi heading to the NCAA. While the door now appears to be open for players who have signed pro contracts in lower leagues such as the ECHL to play college hockey — Bemidji State, for example, now rosters 2021 Calgary Flames pick Jack Beck, who has 40 games of pro experience across the ECHL and AHL — there does not appear to be the same possibility for a player who signs an NHL deal.
While it’s often wise to not read too much into the simple signing of a prospect to an entry-level deal, Lombardi’s signing, due to his prior commitment to the Wolverines, does suggest something about how the organization — or Lombardi himself — views his pro readiness. Starting next season, NHL teams are expected to be able to loan one 19-year-old player to the AHL, under the terms of a new agreement between the league and the CHL.
Lombardi would have traditionally been ineligible to play in the AHL until 2027-28, due to the fact that he will turn 20 in February 2027. Under the new rule, the Kings could elect to make Lombardi their one allotted 19-year-old AHL reassignment, and today’s ELC signing paves the way for Lombardi to be able to do so.
Of course, it’s also possible that Lombardi plays in the OHL until the traditional point of becoming AHL-eligible, rendering this whole aspect of the conversation moot. But given the evolving dynamics of player development across the hockey world, these are aspects of ELC signings that are worth considering.
Pro Hockey Rumors’ Gabriel Foley also contributed to this article.
Seattle’s Brandon Montour Out Week-To-Week
The Seattle Kraken announced today that defenseman Brandon Montour will miss approximately four weeks after undergoing successful hand surgery. Montour left the Kraken’s game last Tuesday with what was at the time an undisclosed injury, and didn’t dress for either of the team’s next two games. He has been placed on injured reserve.
With today’s announcement, the reason for Montour’s unavailability has become clear. The 31-year-old defenseman has become a key part of the Kraken blueline since signing a $7.14MM AAV deal with Seattle in 2024. He currently ranks No. 2 on the Kraken in time on ice per game, averaging 21:55 per game with 2:02 per game on the power play, just behind No. 1 defenseman Vince Dunn in each category.
Montour scored 18 goals and 41 points in his first season in Seattle, and has managed six goals and 16 points in 27 games this season, a scoring rate that is a slight tick above where he landed in 2024-25. Montour paired with lefty Ryan Lindgren to form Seattle’s second defensive pairing on Dec. 16, the date Montour suffered his injury.
With Montour sidelined, head coach Lane Lambert elevated Jamie Oleksiak off of the team’s third pairing into Montour’s role, electing to play Oleksiak on his off hand next to Lindgren. The elevation of Oleksiak paved the way for Josh Mahura to re-enter the Kraken lineup on the third pairing next to young defenseman Ryker Evans. Mahura, who averages 15:15 time on ice per game this season, had been a healthy scratch the prior two games and sat out most of November.
This injury to Montour will challenge the Kraken’s ability to re-enter the Western Conference playoff race. They sit seven points behind the Utah Mammoth, who hold the conference’s second wild card spot, though they have only played in 33 games compared to Utah’s 38. Seattle has gone 2-8-0 in its last 10 games, and losing a key veteran defenseman for four weeks certainly won’t help them reverse that trend.
Jaccob Slavin, Seth Jarvis Out Week-To-Week
The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that two key players are out week-to-week with respective upper-body injuries: Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis.
The announcement of Jarvis’ injury does not come as any great surprise. His injury occurred on Friday and it was immediately clear that he would miss at least some time as a result of what happened. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters immediately after the game that Jarvis was “going to be out for a while.” He was placed on IR the following day, and today the Hurricanes confirmed that he’ll be out on a week-to-week basis.
The more surprising development is the injury to Slavin. Slavin missed two months due to a lower-body injury, and the Hurricanes only activated him on Dec. 14, which was about a week ago. The Hurricanes appeared to be easing Slavin into his return to game action as he played 14:31 time on ice in his first game on Dec. 14, 16:47 in his second game on Dec. 17, and 18:36 on Dec. 19, with all three numbers coming well below his traditional usage level as the team’s top defenseman.
Slavin was held out of the second game of the Hurricanes’ set of back-to-back games on Dec. 20, but at the time, his absence did not raise any eyebrows, as it was attributed to being part of his recovery process. It’s not abnormal for a player who only recently returned from a two-month injury absence to be rested for the second half of a back-to-back.
But the fact that Slavin is now slated to miss time on a week-to-week basis with a new upper-body injury throws into question whether the player suffered this injury during any of his three NHL games since returning on Dec. 14. Per The Raleigh News & Observer’s Chip Alexander, Brind’Amour said today that he assumes Slavin suffered the injury as a result of a hit from Florida Panthers forward A.J. Greer, one that came during the team’s Dec. 19 contest in Sunrise.
Regardless of when exactly he became injured, the reality is the Hurricanes are now once again without their most reliable and important defenseman. Slavin is widely considered to be one of the game’s best shutdown defensemen. Despite offensive production that is relatively pedestrian in comparison to his defensive excellence, Slavin has landed on Norris Trophy ballots in every season of his 11-year career other than his first. That’s a testament to just how highly regarded Slavin is as a defensive defenseman. Slavin is also a two-time Lady Byng Trophy winner, an extraordinarily difficult task for a blueliner asked to go up against the opposing team’s top offensive weapons on a nightly basis.
As the Hurricanes continue to push for their third Metropolitan Division title since 2021, Slavin’s absence will add some additional stress to the team’s defensive plans. The Hurricanes ran a left-side defense of K’Andre Miller, Alexander Nikishin, and Shayne Gostisbehere in Slavin’s absence on Saturday, and could continue to run that defense with Swedish import Joel Nystrom the most likely candidate to be recalled in the event Slavin once again lands on IR. Veteran Mike Reilly is also on the roster as the No. 7 defenseman.
Slavin is widely considered to be a lock to be selected to the United States’ roster for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, and The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported that “the belief is this won’t impact” Slavin’s availability for that tournament.
New York Rangers Recall Brett Berard, Place J.T. Miller On IR
The New York Rangers announced today that they have recalled winger Brett Berard from their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
According to the New York Post’s Mollie Walker, the Rangers placed captain J.T. Miller on IR in a corresponding move, one that created the necessary space on the Rangers’ roster to add Berard. Miller is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, one reported to be related to his right shoulder.
The move comes shortly after the Rangers were forced into playing a game with 11 forwards and seven defensemen dressed due to an unexpected absence of Gabe Perreault due to illness, as well as an injury to Matt Rempe. By recalling Berard, the Rangers have insulated themselves from further unexpected absences, and given head coach Mike Sullivan another forward option to work with as he constructs his lineup.
Berard, 23, has emerged as a top call-up option for the Rangers over the past year and a half, and appears to be on the cusp of reaching full-time NHL status. The 2020 fifth-round pick scored six goals and 10 points across 35 NHL games last season, showing some flashes of the offensive instincts that have made him a top-six forward at the AHL level. Berard scored 25 goals and 48 points as an AHL rookie in 2023-24 and 23 points in his 30 AHL games last season.
He has nine points in 19 games so far this year for Hartford, though it’s worth noting that the Wolf Pack have struggled, as a whole, to generate goals this season. Hartford’s top remaining scorer is 35-year-old AHL veteran Justin Dowling, who has 16 points in 23 games. The club ranks No. 26 in the AHL in goals scored this season, and while Berard has obviously contributed to that, the low-scoring environment has impacted his numbers.
Unfortunately for Berard, finding it harder to generate points has not been something that has been restricted to just the AHL level. He’s also scoreless through his 11 NHL games played this season across an average of 10:59 time on ice per game. Berard last played in the NHL on Dec. 15, skating 10:24 time on ice in the team’s 4-1 home loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
With the Rangers’ forward corps dinged by some notable absences at this point in time, there’s an opportunity available for Berard to seize at the NHL level. Seeing as he’s playing out the final year of his entry-level deal, the NHL opportunity in front of Berard afforded by today’s recall is an important one.
Islanders’ Isaiah George Out Week-To-Week
New York Islanders defenseman Isaiah George is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, according to The Hockey News’ Stefen Rosner.
George, who is currently playing for the Islanders’ AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, needed to be helped off of the ice after he collided awkwardly with the boards while attempting a defensive zone puck retrieval. Per Isles in the Sound’s Kenny Kaminsky, George “did not leave the ice under his own power.” George had only recently returned from a separate injury, an upper-body ailment that had cost him the chance to play for most of November and early December.
While George’s injury won’t have an immediate or direct on the Islanders’ NHL defense, the news is still relevant for the Islanders’ NHL plans as George’s injury means that a top defensive call-up option will be unavailable on a week-to-week basis.
The Islanders selected George in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, and he quickly rose to become one of the team’s more pro-ready defensive prospects.
He entered last season ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Islanders’ system by the team at Elite Prospects, and ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the Islanders’ pool by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler in January.
Wheeler called George “one of the development stories of the year in hockey” and called his rapid development “a real surprise to those who followed him closely in the OHL.” Wheeler projected George to become a “useful depth defenseman” at the NHL level, and that appears to be what he has become, although he hasn’t played at the NHL level this season.
There are multiple factors influencing why George has not played at all in the NHL in 2025-26 after getting into 33 NHL games in 2024-25. First and foremost, the addition of 2025 No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer to the Islanders’ depth chart has meant Islanders’ depth blueliners have had one less lineup spot to compete for.
When Alexander Romanov is healthy, that means the Islanders can run a trio of left-handed defensemen that would be the envy of many teams across the league: Schaefer, Romanov, and veteran Adam Pelech. With Romanov out due to injury, the Islanders’ depth defensemen have been left to compete for one lineup spot, a spot next to Scott Mayfield on the team’s third pairing.
So far this season, the Islanders have elected to give older depth blueliners Marshall Warren and Travis Mitchell a look in that spot, rather than George. Of course, George’s earlier injury didn’t help his odds of earning a recall. But there are also other factors to consider as well. Perhaps most significant is contract status. George has an additional season left on his entry-level deal beyond 2025-26, while Mitchell and Warren are both playing on expiring contracts.
The Islanders have a GM in Mathieu Darche that is in the midst of his first full campaign with the club. While there has been no firm reporting that this is the case, one could speculate that Darche has chosen to recall Mitchell and Warren over George in part because he’s looking to get as much information as possible about how each of those expiring defensemen fare in the NHL while he considers how to approach each player’s upcoming free agency.
If the club knows it has George under contract for another year, from a resource-management perspective, there’s an argument to be made that the Islanders are better served using those NHL games to see what they have in Mitchell and Warren before the summer.
Of course, if the Islanders believe George is a substantial upgrade in the NHL over those two players, and believe that playing George over Mitchell or Warren improves their chances of winning games, then that aforementioned perspective naturally takes a back seat. But seeing as Warren is currently in the NHL and Mitchell only recently concluded an NHL call-up, it appears unlikely that the Islanders view the situation that way.
While he was likely eyeing a chance to return to the NHL, due to today’s injury development, George will have to first recover from his injury before he can make another push to earn a spot in head coach Patrick Roy’s lineup.
Photos courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Latest On Mason Marchment Extension Talks
The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired veteran winger Mason Marchment from the Seattle Kraken on Friday of last week, and he made an instant impact for the club, scoring a goal in his first game after the trade.
Given the fact that the 30-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent, as well as the fact that Columbus surrendered a second-round pick in order to acquire him, many have wondered whether the Blue Jackets will try to sign Marchment to a contract extension before the end of the season.
The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline directly addressed the topic today, including in a recent piece comments from both the player and Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell. Regarding the possibility of signing Marchment to an extension, Waddell told Portzline that he talked to Marchment’s agent, Paul Capizzano of Quartexx, right after the trade was completed, and the two parties agreed to table extension talks until they got to see whether Marchment is a good fit in Columbus and likes playing there.
Marchment himself appeared to agree with that approach, telling Portzline “I’m just kind of going day-by-day right now” and “I really don’t have a plan or anything like that,” while adding that his most pressing priority has been thinking about and taking care of his newborn child. It’s understandable, given those circumstances, that Marchment may not want to rush into signing a new contract.
At 30 years old, it’s likely that Marchment’s upcoming free agency is one of the most important of his career. It’s far easier for a non-star-level player who is still in his early thirties to get a big contract in free agency than it is for someone in his mid to late thirties, so Marchment has a chance this upcoming summer to make the kind of money he likely won’t be able to make the next time he’s a free agent.
Therefore, if this upcoming summer is the one where Marchment is likely to target a large contract that could take him until the twilight years of his NHL career, it makes sense that he wouldn’t want to sign that kind of contract in Columbus before knowing whether he’s a great fit with that organization. It’s also an understandable approach for the Blue Jackets to take.
Although they might prefer to have traded a second-round pick for a player under contract beyond this season, the fact of the matter is retaining Marchment will likely take a solid amount of investment. It would mean committing a sum of at least $4MM AAV (he’s unlikely to accept a significant pay cut after back-to-back seasons scoring around 20 goals and 50 points in 2023-24 and 2024-25) for a player in his thirties, with some term likely attached to the deal.
Columbus could very well be interested in retaining Marchment, but it simply wouldn’t be a prudent decision to extend him so quickly after acquiring him. While the Blue Jackets likely thought through these considerations before trading for him, they don’t know for sure whether he’ll be a fit in head coach Dean Evason’s plans, nor do they know if he’ll be a fit in their overall roster-building calculus.
Keeping their options open moving forward, while trying their best to effectively integrate Marchment into their team, is the most sustainable path forward and allows both sides to gain as much useful information as possible before making a significant commitment to each other.
It’s likely to be a busy summer in Columbus, as Marchment isn’t the only significant pending free agent. Captain Boone Jenner and veteran pivot Charlie Coyle are also set to be unrestricted free agents, while starting netminder Jet Greaves is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights.